

	Years Ended December 31,
	2019			2018		2017
	(in millions)
Current income tax
Federal	$	531		$	275	$	468
State and local	80			45		58
Foreign	36			41		52
Total current income tax	647			361		578

Deferred income tax
Federal	(297		)	20		169
State and local	(13		)	2		(5		)
Foreign	2			3		(8		)
Total deferred income tax	(308		)	25		156
Total income tax provision	$	339		$	386	$	734

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Act was signed into law. The provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2017 included an expense of $286 million due to the enactment of the Tax Act. The $286 million expense included: 1) a $221 million expense for the remeasurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities to the Tax Act’s statutory rate of 21%; 2) a $57 million expense for the foreign provisions of the Tax Act, including a deemed repatriation tax of the Company’s total post-1986 earnings and profits (“E&P”); and 3) an $8 million expense for the remeasurement of tax contingencies, specifically state tax contingencies and interest accrued for tax contingencies. In 2018, the Company finalized its accounting related to the Tax Act and recorded a $3 million benefit related to foreign provisions.

The principal reasons that the aggregate income tax provision attributable to continuing operations is different from that computed by using the U.S. statutory rates of 21% for 2019 and 2018 and 35% for 2017 were as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Tax at U.S. statutory rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	35.0	%
Changes in taxes resulting from:
Low income housing tax credits	(3.6	)	(3.2	)	(3.4	)
State taxes, net of federal benefit	2.4		1.5		—
Foreign tax credits, net of addback	(2.2	)	(1.1	)	—
Dividends received deduction	(1.8	)	(1.6	)	(5.8	)
Impact of the Tax Act	—		—		13.0
Incentive compensation	—		—		(3.0	)
Foreign taxes	—		—		(2.0	)
Other, net	(0.6	)	(1.1	)	(0.7	)
Income tax provision	15.2	%	15.5	%	33.1	%

The decrease in the Company’s effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to 2017 was primarily the result of the decrease in the federal statutory rate and a $286 million expense in 2017 due to provisions of the Tax Act, partially offset by lower levels of the dividends received deduction and a decrease in the benefit for net excess tax benefits related to employee share-based payments.

Accumulated earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries, which totaled $17 million as of December 31, 2019, are intended to be permanently reinvested outside the United States. The expected incremental tax expense on these earnings relates to potential unrecoverable foreign withholding taxes if the earnings are distributed. As of December 31, 2019, this potential future cost is estimated to be immaterial.

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities result from temporary differences between the assets and liabilities measured for GAAP reporting versus income tax return purposes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured at the statutory rate of 21% as of both December 31, 2019 and 2018. The significant components of the Company’s deferred income tax assets and liabilities, which are included net within other assets or other liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, were as follows:



	December 31,
	2019		2018
	(in millions)
Deferred income tax assets
Liabilities for policyholder account balances, future policy benefits and claims	$	945	$	725
Deferred compensation	406		329
Investment related	188		145
Right of use lease liability	59		—
Postretirement benefits	45		44
Other	47		57
Gross deferred income tax assets	1,690		1,300
Less: valuation allowance	19		20
Total deferred income tax assets	1,671		1,280

Deferred income tax liabilities
Deferred acquisition costs	456		437
Net unrealized gains on Available-for-Sale securities	186		30
Intangible assets	115		104
Depreciation expense	94		101
Goodwill	64		60
Right of use lease asset	54		—
Deferred sales inducement costs	50		53
Other	6		6
Gross deferred income tax liabilities	1,025		791
Net deferred income tax assets	$	646	$	489

Included in the Company’s deferred income tax assets are tax benefits primarily related to state net operating losses of $16 million, net of federal benefit, which will expire beginning December 31, 2020. Based on analysis of the Company’s tax position, management believes it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize certain state net operating losses of $13 million, state deferred tax assets of $4 million and foreign deferred tax assets of $2 million; therefore, a valuation allowance of $19 million has been established.



	2019			2018			2017
	(in millions)
Balance at January 1	$	92		$	76		$	115
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	15			22			16
Additions for tax positions of prior years	39			9			3
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(17		)	(3		)	(57		)
Audit settlements	(29		)	(12		)	(1		)
Balance at December 31	$	100		$	92		$	76

If recognized, approximately $67 million, $70 million and $58 million, net of federal tax benefits, of unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, would affect the effective tax rate.

It is reasonably possible that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will change in the next 12 months. The Company estimates that the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits may decrease by $40 million to $50 million in the next 12 months primarily due to Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) settlements and state exams.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of the income tax provision. The Company recognized a net decrease of $2 million, a net increase of $2 million, and nil in interest and penalties for the years ended

December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company had a payable of $8 million and $10 million, respectively, related to accrued interest and penalties.

The Company or one or more of its subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and various state and foreign jurisdictions. In the third quarter of 2019, the federal statutes of limitation closed for the 2014 and 2015 tax years. The Company’s tax returns for 2014 and 2015 are effectively settled except for one issue which was claimed on amended returns filed in the second quarter of 2019. The IRS is currently auditing the Company’s U.S. income tax returns for 2016 and 2017. The Company’s state income tax returns are currently under examination by various jurisdictions for years ranging from 2009 through 2017. In the United Kingdom (“UK”), Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is performing a business risk review of the company’s UK subsidiaries for the 2016 tax year.